Hide And Seek
by Golden Wizard
Summary: Post-Inception. The team is back together with a new member to try and stop Cobol's plans to hunt them down. Rated M for language and violence, but this may change later for other... stuff ;)
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **I randomly got the idea for this fanfic at one in the morning, so I just HAD to write it! Brookes is my OC, and you'll find out more about her later... She is quite a strong character with a haunting past, so look forward to hearing about that! For the moment, please enjoy my fanfic! (It's post-Inception)

**Disclaimer: **Inception belongs to that genius Christopher Nolan, not me, sadly.

Chapter One:

Cobb stared up at the huge, boring, grey building. Was this really the place to find her? Well, it was rumoured to be. Because that's all anyone had heard of her. Just rumours. Cobb hunched his shoulders inside his jacket against the cold and the rain, stepping out across the road. As he reached the pavement on the other side, his shoe crunched on broken glass from a long-forgotten sign on the building's exterior. A tattered, faded piece of paper was all that remained of the sign-board, too faded to even read what it had once said. Cobb sighed, and tried the door. Surprisingly, it opened.

"I guess no one would want to come in here anyway," Cobb thought to himself. He closed the chipped wooden door behind him, and looked around. The dim lighting showed several mats on the floor, encased by rope boundaries, like boxing arenas. A few young men were fighting in pairs on them, apart from one girl in her twenties, who was fighting a much bigger man in an arena on the far side of the room. Cobb made his way over to them. The girl and the man didn't have boxing gloves on, and seemed to be fighting with a lot more graceful technique than the other pairs. They seemed to be practising some kind of martial art, but with more power than Cobb had ever seen.

"You've been training, I see," Cobb called out to her. Barely breaking her rhythm, the girl ducked under a punch from the man, lashed out a sweeping kick which took his legs out from under him, and crouched over him, as if to give him one final punch. She straightened, offering her hand to the man, and pulled him up.

"You win again!" he grinned.

"Get used to it, Charlie, you're getting too old for this kind of thing!" the girl replied in a thick British accent. She turned to Cobb, climbing out of the arena.

"My God. Dom Cobb, it's been too long!" she said excitedly, shaking his hand.

"A pleasure as always, Brookes," Cobb replied, grinning.

"So, let me guess... You've come here to convince me to come back - join the Dream Team once more?" Brookes raised an eyebrow.

"Your perceptiveness is as good as ever," Cobb muttered. "But we need you back. We performed inception recently, and-"

"How did it go?" Brookes frowned.

"Not... as well as it would've if you had been there," Cobb admitted. Brookes inclined her head. "What about the weapons I made you?"

The two started walking across the room.

"Fantastic. We really needed them." Cobb laughed, "and Eames certainly enjoyed the grenade launcher!"

Brookes frowned. "Eames?"

"Our Forger," Cobb explained. "He's worked with me before. We also have a new Chemist, and a new Architect."

"What happened to Nash?" Brookes asked, confused.

"Cobol," was all Cobb said.

"Sorry to hear it," Brookes nodded.

Cobb shook his head. "Ariadne's the best Architect I've ever seen, though. She picked it up so quickly!"

"That's great. So, I suppose, you need me for an inception job?" Brookes said, returning them to their original conversation as they neared the door. Cobb nodded. "Well, here's the thing. After we had finished with the Fischer job, Cobol tipped Peter Browning off that it was our doing, and that Robert Fischer Jr. was only acting under our influence."

Brookes nodded.

"And we need your help for protection against them. The new energy conglomerate, directed by Browning, are hunting us down, and at this rate, we'll never be safe. We need to enter the mind of the head of this new company to try and convince him to stop searching for us." Cobb continued.

Brookes nodded. "I'm in. Give me the location of your warehouse and I'll go and get set up. Cobb wrote it down on a scrap of paper, handing it to Brookes surreptitiously.

"Thank you for doing this, Brookes. I appreciate it." Cobb said, looking her in the eye.

"No problem. I always missed my job in the team," Brookes replied thoughtfully.

"You'll meet the rest of the team later. Arthur and Ariadne should be at the warehouse now, though." Cobb said. "Eames... you need to watch out for," he added hesitantly.

"Oh don't worry. I'm sure he's no match for me," Brookes winked, and brushed past Cobb on her way out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **It will get better soon. This is just the beginning/introduction to the plot at the moment. Please enjoy it!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Inception.

Chapter Two:

Arthur looked up as the door to the warehouse swung open. His surprise was doubled when he saw who it was.

"Brookes?" he asked. She walked towards him, grinning.

"Arthur! Dressed impeccably as always," she said, giving her friend a hug.

"Cobb brought you here?" Arthur asked, his astonishment still in his voice. Brookes nodded.

"He mentioned he needed some help for the inception job," she said.

"Well, it's good to have you back on the team!" Arthur replied sincerely. He suddenly remembered Ariadne, who was standing beside him, slightly awkwardly.

"Ah! Ariadne, this is Brookes," he introduced as the two shook hands.

"That's a beautiful name," Brookes smiled. "Cobb said you were a brilliant Architect." Ariadne smiled back shyly. "I enjoy the work. I guess that helps."

Arthur looked at her. "Oh, stop it. You're naturally gifted at this," he said, slipping his hand around her waist. She leaned her head against him happily.

"There's an empty room you can set up in," Arthur added to Brookes, indicating a room on the far side of the warehouse.

"Set up?" Ariadne frowned.

"I'm a weapons specialist," Brookes explained to her. "I design and build the weapons in reality, then in the dream they appear, fully-constructed and operational."

"Wow!" Ariadne said in surprise. "I thought architecture was hard..." Brookes laughed.

"You're right though, it does make the job easier if you enjoy the work."

Arthur nodded. "Ari, we need to practise some more paradoxical architecture. Brookes, would you mind staying here to supervise? Just to make sure nothing happens."

"Sure!" Brookes agreed.

"The others should be here soon, we all need to brush up on our skills." Arthur added, inserting the needle into Ariadne's arm for her. He settled into one of the other chairs grouped around the PASIV.

"You'll get a chance to show us your stuff later," Arthur said as he slid a needle into his own wrist.

"I'm sure you're looking forward to it," Brookes said cheekily, and pressed the button on the PASIV.

As Arthur and Ariadne slept, Brookes took out her drawing book, and flipped to a new page. She began to design randomly, just for fun this time. Finally, she had drawn a scale model of a medium sized hand-gun, based loosely on the Beretta M9 500, but with her own modifications and personal touches. She knew never to design a gun from reality for the dream, but to create for herself, just like architecture.

"I guess the two things are quite similar," she mused to herself. "Do you know what?" she asked herself after she had finished the drawing. "I do believe I'm going to create this fine specimen." She got up and started taking out bits of spare metal and strong black plastic from a toolbox. "And now I'm talking to myself as well..." she sighed. She was so involved in her work, she didn't notice the door swing open.

She reached for another tiny screw, looking up slightly, and jumped violently as she noticed the three people standing there.

"Jesus Christ!" she gasped, pushing her chair back and standing up.

"Fine guard of this place you are," Cobb said jokingly. "Brookes, I would like you to meet our Chemist, Yusuf, and our Forger, Eames." Brookes shook their hands in turn. Yusuf seemed to be a sensible, skillful worker, and Eames was...

Well. He was very good looking, for a start. He had a boyish charm about him, and a cheeky glint in his eye. The complete opposite of Arthur. Brookes imagined he would tease Arthur mercilessly.

"So you're our security guard?" Eames raised an eyebrow. Brookes was surprised to hear he was English, like her.

"Of a sort," she shrugged. She turned to Cobb. "Arthur and Ariadne are going over paradoxical architecture," she informed him. Eames sighed.

"They've been doing that for the last week!" He shook his head. "You've gotta wonder what they're doing down there..."

"That's up to them," Yusuf shrugged indifferently. "But personally, I don't want to know..."

Brookes laughed, and sat back down at the desk she was temporarily occupying, going back to creating her gun. Eames wandered over.

"So I thought I might have a chat to a fellow Brit," he grinned.

"And I noticed you, like me, prefer to offer your last name as your first," Brookes commented without looking up.

"Indeed. Cruel parents or security reasons?" Eames asked.

"None of the above," Brookes replied. "Just force of habit." Eames nodded, then looked at the gun Brookes was making.

"Wow. You make your own weapons?" he asked in surprise.

"Yeah!" Brookes replied.

"That's a real skill," Eames commented, impressed.

Brookes used a tiny screwdriver and hammer to put the final touches on the trigger and bullet release. She clicked it twice, satisfied with her work. She took the barrel she had made earlier, and clicked it into place against the trigger and release system. She slid the handle up to meet the end of the barrel, and thumbed back the hammer. She pulled the trigger, and felt the bullet release system working efficiently inside the gun.

"May I take a look?" Eames asked, and Brookes handed the gun over to him. He tested the weight in his hand, then spun the gun around on his finger several times.

"Perfect balance," he murmured. He thumbed back the hammer, aimed it at the wall - as if at an enemy - and pulled the empty gun's trigger.

"The release is very smooth. How's the recoil?" he asked.

"Not sure. I just designed it today," Brookes explained.

"That's amazing!" Eames muttered.

"Here. Keep it," Brookes offered, handing him a clip full of bullets.

"_Really?_ But, don't you need it?" Eames asked in surprise.

Brookes laughed, shaking her head. "I have _plenty_ more where that came from!"

"Well then, thank you!" Eames said mock-graciously, giving Brookes a little bow.

"Also, Cobb informed me that you rather enjoyed that grenade-launcher on the Fischer job?" Brookes asked. Eames laughed.

"That one was a lot of fun," he said.

"I built it," Brookes replied casually.

Arthur and Ariadne woke up from their sleep (each grinning somewhat cheekily at the other), and Cobb announced it was time to go home.

"Alright, everyone, we'll met back here tomorrow. Ariadne, you can show us what you and Arthur have been working on, and Brookes, you can help all of us with weapons training." Everybody murmured goodbyes to each other as they made their separate ways out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **So sorry I haven't updated in ages! I've been pretty busy. Bleugh, terrible excuse... But please enjoy :)

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Inception :( but Brookes is all mine :D

Chapter Three:

"Ok. Now, although most of you will have fired a gun before, and think you know everything there is to know about it, I can guarantee you will be doing at _least_ two things wrong. Everyone will have their own separate firing range, and I'll give each of you pointers." Brookes said in an authoritative voice. "Cobb, you've had a lot of experience with weapons before, so I'll set you up on the more advanced range. Ariadne, how much experience do you have?"

Ariadne looked slightly embarrassed. "Um, actually, I've never fired a gun before."

Brookes nodded. "That's fine, I'll help you out." She took a key from around her neck and walked over to a long, tall cupboard. She unlocked the door and swung it carefully open to reveal row upon row of guns. _All_ kinds of guns.

Eames whistled. "Even I must admit, I'm pretty impressed," he smirked. Brookes turned back to him, smiling cheekily. "The thought of a woman with guns excites you, now, does it?"

Everyone laughed with her as she took five reasonable-sized handguns from the cupboard. She proceeded to lead each member of the group to their respective ranges, handing them the gun she thought suitable for their experience levels.

"Cobb, let me just see your technique," Brookes instructed as she observed him. Cobb raised the gun, took his stance and fired one round at the full-body target at the end of the range.

"Good. Now, try again, with your thumb on the handle like this..." Brookes moved his thumb to rest in a higher position. "And now with your other hand cupping your trigger hand gently." Cobb did as he was told and fired again, this time hitting the target dead in the middle of its chest.

"Perfect!" Brookes smiled. "Keep working on that. Then try it turned more to the side, then with one hand only." She exited Cobb's range and went to Ariadne's.

"I'm really nervous about this," Ariadne began.

"Just relax! It'll be fine. I'm a certified instructor!" Brookes laughed. "I've chosen a lighter weapon for you, and it also has less recoil than most. I designed it with a beginner in mind, so you're perfectly safe." Brookes handed Ariadne the gun.

"Wow, it's actually a lot lighter than I expected," Ariadne said surprisedly.

"Exactly! Now stand... here," Brookes directed. "Side on, like this." She held Ariadne's arm, pointing it straight down at the target, and put some earmuffs on her.

"Now the gun should be held like this... Good. And the other hand cups it to give stability and strength. Now look straight down the sights on the barrel, positioning them so you are looking at where you want to hit... And breathe in. Breathe out, then gently squeeze the trigger," Brookes finished, stepping back to give Ariadne some room. As soon as the gun went off, Ariadne jumped slightly and gasped.

"I've never done that before," she breathed. Brookes grinned.

"Well done though!"

"Where did I hit?" Ariadne asked curiously.

"About ten centimetres left of his arm," Brookes replied. "But it's a good start! The reason you hit so low is you dropped your arms a bit. You also probably jolted the gun out of position when you fired, which could be a result of pulling the trigger too heavily. Keep working on the technique," she finished, walking backwards out the door.

"Thanks," Ariadne called after her, concentrating on the target.

Brookes glanced into Arthur's range as she passed it, but his technique seemed to be good. She opened the door slightly.

"Keep your resting hand turned upwards," she called in. "Better stability."

Arthur nodded to her and turned back.

When she reached Eames' range, she noticed that he had hit the target right in the head six times.

"It's _my_ turn to be impressed!" Brookes commented. Eames turned to her.

"More experience than you'd think," he shrugged. Brookes nodded.

"Wait there. I have a more advanced weapon for you."

Brookes walked back to the cupboard, which was still open, and slid the door back further. This revealed a line of significantly larger guns, and Brookes took a heavy-looking machine pistol from its hook. She returned to Eames' range, and placed the strap around her shoulder.

"This is unlike any machine gun you will have ever used," she started. "In appearance, based on the AK-47. In weight, more like a grenade launcher. But it loads clips like a shotgun... if a shotgun loaded clips, that is."

"Sounds complicated," Eames frowned.

"Not really. It's a bit hard at first, but once you get used to it..." Brookes snapped the gun up to face the target and released a stream of bullets, hitting the target dead centre. A smoking hole remained where its chest used to be.

"If it can do that to a target, I'd love to see what it could do to a real person..."

"Here," Brookes said, handing Eames the gun and pressing the button for a new target to be put up. "You have a go."

Eames took it, placing the strap around his own shoulder.

"Hold it... here," Brookes corrected, reaching around Eames' waist to secure the gun in position. Somewhat distracted, Eames did as he was instructed, aiming the weapon somewhat at the centre of the target.

"Now fire it. Gently," Brookes breathed, and Eames fired. It blasted a hole straight through the middle of the new target.

Eames laughed slightly. "I like this one."

"It's me favourite," Brookes returned, starting to walk off. "Enjoy!"


End file.
